Ralph Caplan (January 4, 1925 – June 4, 2020) was an American design consultant, writer, and public speaker.
After his discharge from the Marines, Caplan re-entered Earlham College, graduated, and went for his master's degree at Indiana University.
He is the author of The Design of Herman Miller, and was a consultant to that Michigan furniture manufacturer for more than 20 years.
His book, Cracking the Whip, published in 2006, is a selection of his essays on design and its side effects.
Caplan taught design criticism at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and wrote for various print and online journals.